jadz

I am not entering my third week here in Jamaica. My first week was spent seeing a bit of the city, setting up a bank account with NCB Jamaica and getting settled in.

It was in my second week here that I started working with YOU. Much of the week setting up simple but necessary office equipment like a network joining the 7 office computers and the many printers, setting up WinGate so that everyone has access to the web through one dial-up account. I’ve noticed how dial up really makes the web much less usable

Marcy and Sam were the two other CUSO co-operants that joined me on the flight down here. Sam has chosen to stay with his host family while Marcy and I are moving into a house in Beverly Hills. The house is really amazing. It has seen better days in its time but it is still really fabulous. The neighbor hood is much like Beverly Hills in California with winding roads leading up to very nice houses with pools and BMW’s. There is a large lawn with a large patio that looks over the city.

I think working in an office without air conditioning is somewhat similar to working in an office in Halifax with no heat. You can do it, but it adds to your workload.

On a side note I have already been to Negril, a tourist destination on the west coast of the island. The water is amazing. We stopped in at Margaretville and also did some dancing at the Jungle (the main club in Negril).

There has been a lot of other stuff happening, security is on everyone?s list here. There is another Canadian here that has been robbed 4 times since he has been here. They like to take a knife and cut your pocket open apparently, hoping that your wallet will fall out. He also had someone cut his laptop strap off while he was standing on the bus, a group of people noticed on the bus and put a good kicking to the fellow eventually throwing him out the back of the moving bus.

I?m looking for a cell phone with one of the 3 major carriers here. I think even the homeless have phones here, it?s unbelievable how much of a business it must be.

One more thing, they love Karaoke here.

It was Sunday of of the 2002 Labour Day weekend that I started to pack for my travels to Jamaica. This weekend also marked the end of a housing era, with the end of the now famous Queen and Tobin street houses. These residences marked the first and last (I suspect) living arrangements for large groups of friends.

Everyone in the city was seemingly moving in and out of apartments. It was only with the help of many friends and their vehicles that I was able to pack up all my worldly possessions and move them into my old room at on Rockwood. This room now packed with box after box made packing my bags that much more challenging. My attention was also drawn away from packing for Jamaica by the return of Sherman Antao from sunny California and the chance to see a lot of the gang at Simon Mario and Danny?s new place.

Having met up with Sherman and also seen many of the rest of the Halifax gang it was time to head home. At 12:30am Kelsey gave me a drive home with a heartfelt ?good luck? seeing me to the door. I went upstairs to my room and looked at the 70 pound bag of cloths that I was bringing, and then at the assortment of electronic devices and other toys (tennis racket and snorkelling gear) that I still had to pack. My flight was set to take off in 8 hours and I didn?t feel like banging around packing my bags so I decided to go to sleep and wake in the morning to pack the rest of my gear.

At 5:15 my alarm rang and I groggily got up and looked at all the wires and CD?s that I had laid out to bring on the trip. I hastily packed all the things that I thought I would need for the trip and sealed up the large plastic bin that served as my second traveling bag.

Arriving at the airport just in time I now had 70lbs of clothing in one bag and in another large plastic bin a desktop computer as various Ethernet cables speakers and a number of other essential items, with my lap top as carry on. Just squeezing in under the weight restrictions I was now embarking on the flight to Jamaica.

In order to get to Jamaica from Halifax you have to connect in Toronto where there is a daily flight to Kingston Jamaica. Having meat up with Marcy and Sam on the flight to Toronto we walked together to the other terminal. I could tell I was at the right gate as there was almost entirely black passangers waiting. The passengers were split 50/50 of those visiting and those returning home to Jamiaca.

If you take a quick look at a map of Jamaica you can see that Kingston is on the South side of the island. This means you fly over the North shore of Jamaica (where the tourists go) and it is easy to see the attraction. Bright blue waters surrounding white beaches with the largest structure in sight being a cruise ship.

As I stepped off the plain it was not as much the shock of heat as it was the incredible humidity. I was instantly sticky as I walked down the open air corridor of the small Kingston airport. Sam Marcy and I eventually got through immigration after we found out the addresses of where we would be staying. Walking outside to the pickup area we were repeatedly asked if we needed a ride anywhere or if we needed help phoning somewhere. After patiently waiting about 15 minutes a van arrived easily spotting us as the only 3 young white people at the airport.

We were then driven through the east end of Kingston to our homes for the next week closer to the west end. The east end of Kingston was I think what the other cooperants had warned us might be a little shocking. Once I become more familiar with the area, and find a friend who can take me there safely then I will try to get some pictures.

My home for the next week is a very comfortable condo with gates all around. It has a swimming pool. There doesn?t seem to be a single glass window in the building. All the windows have slates in them to keep the sun out and let the air in. I have been thoroughly entertained with stories of travels from my hostess and look forward to my orientation next week.